Tales of the Malazan

As the tales begin, the Malazan Empire, under the rule of Empress Laseen, a murderous usurper of the throne, seeks ever to add to its holdings and is often sorely tasked with both consolidating and expanding its rule when faced with rebel armies, religious zealots, and immortal Ascendants opposed to its ambition. But Malazan is not an evil empire, particularly, no more so than any, and like the Romans, often brings order, peace, prosperity and uniform administrative rule under law to its conquered lands.

The Empire has expanded to three continents, all of which are undergoing religious upheavels of one sort or another. The Malazan armies are spread rather thin, and, initially, allies are thin on the ground. While the cast of characters is huge, we follow in each book the fortunes of three siblings, Ganoes, Tavore, and Felisin Paran, as well as the adventures of a motley crew of marines and sappers, christened the Bridgeburners, under the leadership of Sergeant Whiskeyjack. The Bridgeburners are not precisely what they appear to be, and Whiskeyjack is not your typical noncom.

Erikson's books are most definitely for mature audiences. It's not just that his books are bloody and relate many war-time atrocities, or that his writing is on a level that may be over the head of younger readers, but rather that his themes require a body of life experience sufficient to fully empathize with the characters and understand the depth of human suffering and the subtleties of such suffering that Erikson seeks to portray. As indicated by the series title, Book of the Fallen, many people die, including major characters we've come to love and respect.

As the series progresses, the world expands, new continents, races and cultures are introduced, along with their gods and magic. The Empire is in disarray, the plots thicken, and we come to realize that these tales encompass a world war, a war of the gods, an armegeddon rising on the horizon. Good stuff.

On the continent of Genabackis, the Malazan armies seek to subdue Darujhistan, last of the great free cities of the north. Opposing them are the armies of Caladan Brood, an immortal (perhaps) warrior of renown, Anomander Rake, leader of the Tiste Andii (yes, they are dragons), gods and ascendants, and others.

The Empress Laseen seeks to destroy the last of the Bridgeburners, only a handful of whom now survive after the distrastrous, yet victorious, seige of Pale. She sends them on a secret mission to infiltrate Darujhistan and undermine the city from within, assuming their failure. Plots within plots, betrayals and alliances, a highly confusing array of characters. This introduction to the series is difficult to follow, to say the least.

Frankly, while I admired Erikson's writing, I did not particularly connect with this book or any of the characters (as I knew them then). The atrocities and very mature subject matter made other "hard-bitten" fantasy series seem almost tame. After reading Gardens of the Moon, I waited a year before picking up Deadhouse Gates. Very glad I finally did.

Deadhouse Gates, Book 2 in the Malazan Book of the Fallen, is one of my all-time favorite fantasy novels, and is the one that got me totally hooked on the series. The world, the characters, the magic and religions begin to make sense and we become more intimately acquainted with several important characters. As with the other books in this series, Erikson interweaves three main story lines, with a few stray bits here and there. It's easiest to discuss these plot lines separately.

At the end of Gardens of the Moon, the remaining Bridgeburners split up, with Fiddler and Kalam off on a "cover" mission to return Apsalar to her home, though their real aim is to reach the Empress Laseen and, possibly, assassinate her. To reach the Malazan homeland, they choose to travel through another main continent held by the Empire called Seven Cities.

While Seven Cities has been under Malazan rule for a number of years (Kalam, in fact, is a native of Seven Cities), they find on their surreptitious arrival that the entire continent is on the brink of revolt, due to the imminent fulfillment of a religious prophecy in which their prophetess, Sha'ik, will be reborn, initiating the Whirlwind, an apocalypse of rebellion against the Empire and a return of Seven Cities past glory. This plot line follows their adventures in traversing Seven Cities in the midst of violent chaos and introduces yet more very interesting characters.

(By the way, I am trying to avoid spoilers in these summaries, though naturally as the book summaries continue some plot advancements will be unavoidably obvious.)

The second plot line follows Felisin Paran. First, a little background on the Parans (we have mentioned that the Paran family figures prominently in the series). The Parans are a rich, noble family from the heart of Malazan. We have met Ganoes already; as a Malazan army officer, he had found himself attached to the Bridgeburners in Gardens of the Moon, while serving under Adjunct Lorn, and is presently finding himself enmeshed in, hmmm, shall we say, "higher" entanglements.

Tavore Paran, the elder sister, has just been appointed the new Adjunct to the Empress. An Adjunct seems to function as the visible manifestation of the Empress, her right-hand woman, her executive assistant, her chief advisor, and who knows what else. A very, very powerful position. Sadly, no sooner has Tavore achieved this prominence than Laseen decides another purge of the nobility is in order (those pesky nobles often dislike dictatorship).

The Paran patriarch falls in the purge, the mother dies of grief, and Felisin, youngest of the Paran family, is sent off to the slave camps at the otataral mines, on an island in the north of Seven Cities. Felisin is very angry with her sister for not saving her from this fate. Very angry. Very, very angry. This second plot line follows the adventures of Felisin and two of her enslaved companions, Heboric and Baudin, as they reach the mines, and, later, when the Seven Cities uprising reaches them, as they escape and make their way through Seven Cities.

So, we have an entire continent ablaze with rebellion. Huge armies of rebels are forming under variously competent leaders. A new Prophetess is expected to initiate the Whirlwind momentarily. Malazan garrisons are either being slaughtered (if small), retreating into their forts under seige, or off-loading onto any available ships or dinghies and sailing away as quickly as possible.

And the Empress deals with these problems in a very peculiar way. She fortifies the southernmost of the Seven Cities port cities - Aren. She leaves her troops holed up there under the command of a dithering, pampered, cowardly noble who will not make a move. She withdraws her fleet to that port and refuses to allow the Admiral (a great guy) to relieve, or even rescue, stranded troops in the north.

Then she sends the renowned Wickan commander, Coltaine, to the northern port of Hissar to take command. The general consensus is that she fears Coltaine, and his Wickans (the best cavalry in the world, and only recently subservient to the Empire), and is expecting that he and they should perish. Apparently, her plan is to lose Seven Cities with the aim of purging her army of those she fears, and then retaking the continent after the flames of heated rebellion have died down.

Through the eyes of an Imperial Historian named Duiker (charged with accurately recording every move the Empire makes), we follow Coltaine as he takes command, wins the loyalty of the Malazan troops under his command, and then, against all odds, begins a trek of well over 1,000 miles to escort over 50,000 Malazan refugees to safety in Aren - surrounded at all times by several rebel armies many times the size of his seeking total destruction of every man, woman and child, through a desert without water, without supplies, and without any relief or help from the fleet or the other Malazan armies.

You will rage. You will weep. You will cheer. You will have to lay the book aside at times to punch walls or walk around or have a drink. I wept through the last hundred pages nonstop. This is the story of the power of the will of one man, and the will of many common people, determined to take one more step, travel one more day, win one more battle. Their suffering is indescribable (by me; Erikson does a fine job). Their strength and perseverance is amazing. Coltaine's story is the most affecting, to me, of all the Tales of the Fallen I've read so far. I cannot recommend Deadhouse Gates highly enough.

Memories of Ice returns us to the continent of Genabackis a few months after the ending of Book 1, Gardens of the Moon. The events take place concurrently with the stories in Book 2, Deadhouse Gates.

Dujek Onearm, High Fist of the Empire's Army on Genabackis, has repudiated the Empress. After the events in Darujhistan, he and his entire army have gone rogue and are now free to roam about the continent. No longer at odds with Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, Caladan Brood, and Prince K'azz D'Avore with his Crimson Guard, they seek to forge an alliance amongst all the forces of northern Genabackis to battle a greater threat. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

In the South, a new religion/empire has arisen, under the direction of the Pannion Seer, an evil sorcerer and stooge of the Crippled God. Called the Pannion Domin, these hellbent hordes are recruiting/subdueing vast numbers of starving, mindless fanatics who engage in cannabilism and other atrocities. Marching north, they leave a huge swath of destruction and lifelessness in their wake. The alliance of the free peoples of Genabackis, along with Onearm's Host, are tasked with their defeat.

There are multiple story lines advanced as we learn much more about the Deck of Dragons, representing the pantheon and its primary servants; the sentient races, most particularly the T'lan Imass, undead warriors relentlessly stalking their enemy for 300,000 years; and the stirrings of the Crippled God.

The Crippled God, chained for eons, has become unbound. Inklings of his arousal and activities are rumored and surmised as he begins recruiting for his cause. His cause, the destruction of the world, is the armegeddon towards which all the novels in the series inexorably march. We begin to get a clearer understanding of who is who, who is nice and who is naughty. Who will we root for, and who will cause us great gnashing of teeth.

Characters we had thought lost, including Toc the Younger, snatched into oblivion before the very eyes of Ganoes Paran in book 1, reappear and undergo marvelous transformations. Characters whom we have come to know and love meet their end, or, for some at least, their corporeal end. Others are elevated into surprising new roles. New characters are introduced, as well as new gods and ascendants.

There are two main story lines. First, the alliance moves south to meet the oncoming horde of the Pannion Domin and there are battles and momentous confrontations. The second primary plot line is about an honorable mercenary company, called the Grey Swords, who had accepted the job of providing security to the southern city of Capustan. They hadn't bargained on defending the city from an onslaught of fanatic religious zealots determine to obliterate the city and all its inhabitants. Surrounded by the hordes of the Pannion Domin, they fight to hold the city until Onearm and his allies can relieve them. An impossible task, taken on with resolve and fierce determination. The Grey Swords' stand in Capustan is the most clearly demonstrated example of gallantry and honor in fantasy fiction.

One of the best books in the series, Memories of Ice will grip your heart and your imagination. If you are not solidly hooked on the series by now, you never will be.

House of Chains is a direct sequel to book 2, Deadhouse Gates, taking place a few months following Coltaine's Chain of Dogs and the decimation of Malazan's 7th Army in Seven Cities. Felisin Paran, aka Sha'ik Reborn, has withdrawn her substantial armies into the heart of the Whirlwind in the Holy Desert of Raraku, where she awaits the arrival of her nemesis, dear sister Tavore Paran, now both Adjunct to the Empress and High Fist of a newly recruited and untried 14th Army. Keep in mind that Felisin's true identity is known only to Heboric, her companion, advisor, and fellow escapee from the Otataral mines.

House of Chains begins with the most extensive prologue to date, a lengthy account, beginning several years prior to present events, of the life and adventures of Karsa Orlong, a Toblakai warrior to whom we had been briefly introduced in Deadhouse Gates, as a bodyguard of prophetess Sha'ik in her first incarnation.

Karsa's tale begins in the far north of the Genabackis continent, where his people, the Teblor, have unknowingly worshipped a group of unbound (clanless) T'lan Imass for eons. Karsa seeks to reenergize his people, restore their honor and reputation, and eventually lead them to conquest and glory. He starts out on a quest to kill whoever he can, leading two friends out of the mountains and to their deaths and his own captivity.

Along the way, Karsa learns he is a descendant of the Thelomen Toblakai, one of the most ancient of sentient races. He continues to pursue his destiny while the Whirlwind Goddess awaits the coming battle with the Malazans, returning in time to conduct some personal business of his own during that confrontation.

Meanwhile, we follow Tavore Paran's attempt to gain the respect of her new army, mostly raw recruits, a small remnant of Coltaine's Wickans under Temul's leadership, and the troops who'd been stationed at Aren. Most of the action here is relayed through Fiddler's eyes, who has joined a new platoon of marines and sappers under another name.

The Empress Laseen's political machinations during this time revolve around discrediting Coltaine and his accomplishments, putting it about that he was to blame for the failure to initially contain the Seven Cities uprising and that the ensuing deaths were his fault. An anti-Wickan pogrom is encouraged on Quon Tali (the home continent of the Malazan Empire). Indeed, Laseen seems hellbent on destroying all competence and conscience within her realm. One begins to seriously wonder about her connection to the Crippled God.

The pace here is a bit slower, as Erikson has much to reveal about some of the people who will have important roles to play as the series progresses, particularly Tavore Paran, Karsa Orlong, and the marines of the 14th Army. The book culminates in a decisive battle at Raraku with Tavore's army receiving unexpected aid in their attack.

And now for something completely different. Midnight Tides, taking place in 1159 Burns Sleep, is a prequel to the entire series. We are introduced to a new continent, Lether, unknown to the Malazans. Most of the continent is under the control of the Letherii, an imperialistic, "manifest destiny" driven, ultracapitalistic culture intent on subjugating the entire continent through both economic and militaristic means.

The Letherii trace their descent from the First Empire. Their legends detail the escape of a small group of Letherii to this unknown continent, their rise to glory, and their unending conquests. Their magic and religion is based on the ancient Holds; the Warrens are unknown to them. We meet Ascendants whom we cannot fit into the Deck of Dragons as we know it.

With most of the continent under their control, the Letherii have turned their eyes to the North, now seeking to claim the lands of the Tiste Edur through economic subterfuge. They anticipate no trouble here, as the Tiste Edur are composed of several tribes which do not work in concert. However, that has recently changed. A new Warlock King has arisen among the Tiste Edur, uniting the tribes.

The main story line in Midnight Tides traces the fortunes of the Tiste Edur through the Sengar family. We have met Trull Sengar before. Now we meet his brothers, Rhulad, Fear, and Binadas. The Warlock King tasks these brothers with a perilous journey to the far north to retrieve a special sword which will make the Warlock King, and the Edur, invincible and allow them to turn the tables on Lether. They are warned not to touch the sword.

The brothers find the sword, but must engage in battle with the Jheck, Soletaken wolves, to get it. In the course of the battle, youngest brother Rhulad, ambitious and conceited, naturally picks up the sword. He is fatally wounded in battle, yet the others are unable to remove the sword from his grip. They get home, prepare him for burial and face the wrath of the Warlock King.

Then Rhulad comes back to life. Yeah. Okay, so the upshot of all this is that the Sword belongs to the Crippled God, Rhulad is basically possessed and, when himself, pretty much insane. He can't be killed - coming back each time crazier than he was before. But the Tiste Edur accept him as their Emperor and begin a march down through Lether to take over. The Letherii are not prepared.

The second, and far more amusing story line, follows the adventures of Tehol Beddict (one of the three Beddict brothers, the other two being Brys and Hull; lots of brotherly interactions in this novel). Tehol and his manservant, Bugg, are hatching a plot to crash Lether's stock market and bring down the entire Lether economy. The ways in which they operate, the inside look at the underbelly and overbelly of Lether city life, and the relationship between Tehol and Bugg are all highly entertaining.

Overall, I found this novel slightly weaker than the others. At first, I thought it was because it takes place on a different continent with unfamiliar characters (aside from Trull Sengar and a god or two). But I think it's really because Erikson uses this story as an opportunity to beat us over the head a bit with the general nastiness of unbridled capitalism and economic imperialism. Political views should always be implicit in the stories and the characters - it's a cop out when they are explicitly narrated.

Midnight Tides is very important in the story as a whole. For one thing, it is made crystal clear that the coming apocalypse will be world-wide in scope, preparing the way for the shocking events coming up in The Bonehunters. We also get to tear our hair out over the complexities of the god/ascendant/magic systems and throw our Decks of Dragons against the wall in frustration. Finally, we are introduced to many new characters, several of whom will possibly play significant roles down the road. My personal favorite of these was Seren Pedac, the Letherii trader guide.

The Bonehunters picks up with events in Seven Cities two months following Sha'ik's fall to Tavore and her 14th Army, making this book a direct sequel to House of Chains.

The empire's mopping up operations include sending Dujek Onearm's army (now back in Laseen's good graces) to northwest Seven Cities. Here they are stymied by plague, let loose by the goddess Poliel, consort of the Crippled God. Ganoes Paran, on a fact-finding trip of his own, finds them camped outside the city, with most of their officers dead or dying. After dealing with Poliel (not single-handedly, mind you), Ganoes takes command and makes plans to march south. Meanwhile, the plague has spread west, leaving destruction in its wake, with Tavore's army endeavoring to stay one step ahead of it.

A second and third story line, rather related, involves the further adventures in Seven Cities of Karsa Orlong and his new female companion, and Mappo and Icarium, who become separated from one another. Both Karsa and Icarium eventually find themselves on Letherii ships (yes, that is why Midnight Tides is positioned as book 5), bound for Lether to provide dueling fun for Rhulad, immortal pawn of the Crippled God.

Normally, I don't mention the peripheral story lines, nor have I discussed much about the gods, the Elder Gods, the ancient Holds, the sentient races, or the Deck of Dragons. I'm still not going to, since that would constitude a Malazan encyclopedia with hundreds of pages. Still, The Bonehunters is a very busy book and a few things just must be mentioned.

Cutter and some companions are escorting Heboric back to the jade statue on Otataral Island. Heboric has a lengthy vision which I, personally, do not really get. Sighs. Another story line follows Apsalar on a mission to assassinate various parties on behalf of Cotillion. We come to appreciate Cotillion more and more. Kalam and Quick Ben are also busy bees.

In short, The Bonehunters gathers threads from all over the place, ties a lot of things together, introduces a new Elder goddess, a new House, and moves the overall story along at a remarkable pace. We find that the gods are also making decisions about which side they'll take in the coming showdown. But that's not nearly all.

Okay, now for the main story line. (some spoilers here, I just can't resist) Tavore is chasing the remnants of Sha'ik's army under Leoman west across the subcontinent. Leoman beats her to the ancient, well-fortified holy city of Y'Ghatan and holes up there. Amid uncertainty and dissent amongst her advisors, Tavore prepares to break the walls, naturally using her sappers and marines to lead the way. With the plague on their heels and supplies running low, there is no time for a lengthy siege.

Once a great many Malazans have breached the walls, Leoman torches the entire city's inventory of that years' olive oil harvest, creating a gigantic firestorm that consumes the city, including his own troops. What a jerk. He has made a deal with the Queen of Dreams and escapes the city with his new lady friend.

A group of Malazans, some frightened children, and Leoman's erstwhile right hand man, manage to find passage underneath the city, escaping the fire and eventually emerging into the light days later, thanks to Bottle's gift for communication with small creatures. The experience leaves a lasting impression, they have been forged in fire, and they are now the Bonehunters.

You'd think that would be enough for one book, but no. Having completed her assignment, Tavore marches to the west coast, meeting up with Admiral Nok for the return journey to Quon Tali. Word reaches them of sightings of the Letherii expeditionary ships. They also meet up with another fleet and meet the Perish, a nation we have not met before, under service to the newest House in the Deck of Dragons, the House of War, devoted to the wolf god and goddess, Togg and Fanderay. And what do the Perish do? They pledge their allegiance to Tavore. Not the Empire. Just Tavore.

They sail together to Malaz City, where Tavore has her final confrontation with Laseen, who has become concerned about Tavore's ambitions. The final pages of The Bonehunters are extremely fast-paced. Much is revealed. Much is hinted. Fiddler fiddles. That right there is worth the price of the book.

Reaper's Gale is the slowest moving of the Tales of the Malazan so far. Erikson saves all his big guns for the finale (which includes a priceless line from Fiddler that had me roaring out loud in laughter. You'll know it when you read it.). There are five main story lines, rather than the usual three, with several substories, of course. This is a long and, at times, rather tedious tale. There is no doubt that this book is meant as a bridge, concluding some stories and consolidating others, revealing all sorts of choice tidbits that will be important at the end. There were a few times when I'd have preferred Erikson just gave us a list of "things to know".

First, we pick up the travels of one of my favorites from Midnight Tides, Seren Pedac, and her unlikely companions, Fear Sengar, Udinaas, Silchas Ruin and Kettle, that strange little girl brought to life by the Azath house in Letheras. Along the way, they add a cocky young companion, Clip, who is said to be the Mortal Sword of Dark (but who we suspect may be something else). As you may recall, their mission is to find the soul of Scabandari, erstwhile Father Shadow, so that a) Fear can confront him for the truth about his betrayal and/or b) Silchas Ruin can destroy him.

Here's the thing. Scabandari's soul is held in a Jaghut Finnest (a Finnest is any item with a Soul embedded. For example, a Jaghut could lock someone's soul in a cookie jar.) Apparently, Silchas Ruin knows where to find it. Others want it for its power, or want it destroyed. Namely, the three sisters of Dawn, Dusk and Dapple. Namely, Shadowthrone. In the end, we find several old friends making their way to where the Finnest is hidden (which turns out to be an enclave of living Tellann tucked away within a dead realm of Omtose Phellack. I think. Ugh, very complex). Anyhoo, Trull and Onrack get there. Hedge gets there. Quick Ben gets there. The dragon sisters get there. Udinaas' son with Menandore is already there.

Frankly, the process by which they all arrive, as we track their travels, is rather dull. Yet, we do learn a great deal more about the Imass. Seren has some personal revelations. Udinaas' backbone shows more and more inherent strength. We learn a lot about the dragons, their history and their realms (Dark, Light and Shadow). But still, it dragged a bit. The showdown was not particularly exciting. The conclusion was satisfactory. That's about the best that can be said.

The second storyline simply baffles me. I'll be honest. Why is it even there? Ok, I can think of several reasons. Granted the necessity, why is it presented in such an incomplete and unsatisfying manner? I'll try to summarize.

In eastern Letheras, there are various tribal nations, mostly free of direct Letherii control. One of them, though, borders Letheras and the chief merchant there wants their land. So he (with the help of his contacts) manufactures a war justifying the land grab. Much of this part of the book is a continuation of Erikson's theme of capitalistic imperialism gone wild.

Anyway, this Awl tribe has a new leader who is determined to fight the Letherii (we never know why). He is up against the Letherii atri-preda and the Edur nominally in charge of the province. Everyone fights. More than once. The Awl are defeated in the end. Everyone dies. The empty lands are now in care of a Barghast tribe under Tool's leadership, newly arrived from the east coast, dedicated to the House of War (the Wolves).

Apparently, this entire story was meant to prepare the way for some sort of showdown in an upcoming book that takes place in this geographic area. The Barghast are already there. Tavore's Perish are also in place. Tavore herself will be coming along shortly.

I will tell you what really bothered me about this story line. First, the destruction of the Grey Swords in a one-sentence reference. They deserved better. Second, Toc the Younger. He deserved better (though, he may get better, you never know ;o ). Three, the people fighting in this story did their jobs, nothing more. Nothing elevating. Nothing worth note. I'm sure Erikson meant it that way - to drive home his point on the human wastefulness of greedy aggression. But....I did not care for this story. In my mind, it bore no comparison to the Chain of Dogs or the Grey Swords stand.

The third story line is the ugliest. A bit of background. When the Edur conquered Letheras, they really didn't conquer. They took some money, and some were appointed to nominal positions of supposed power. But the real power, both economic and political, stayed firmly in Letherii hands. Rhulad has alienated his Edur. Many have returned home. Many are living in style in outlying provinces. The nation is in the slimy grip of Tribal Gnol, that nasty little councillor, who has complete control over what Rhulad hears and sees. He and his fellow Nazis, the power-hungry among the Letherii, have taken the opportunity in this vacuum of leadership to reshape Letheras into their own little police state for personal profit and sadistic fun. Their power extends to imprisoning the Sengar parents, most of the Letherii intelligentsia, merchants they seek to rob, and anyone good looking enough to merit repeated rapes. Thankfully, they all receive their comeuppance at the end. For which we are profoundly grateful.

Tehol's storyline is worked into this, as he and Bugg continue their operations. They are amusing as ever, and the denouement as far as Tehol is concerned is highly entertaining. There are a few minor stories taking place in Letheras at the same time. One involves the Errant and Featherwitch. The Errant may prove to be important. Featherwitch not at all. Another baffling story element.

A minor (at this point) story involves an honorable Edur named Bruthen Trana, who is betrayed by Hannan Mosag (yes, he's still around and about, rather ineffectually) and wanders the depths in search of Brys Beddict, whom he finds. Brys is wanted by several parties of Ascendant persuasion, but at his return (which is pleasing), Erikson explicitly states that Brys is Savior of the Empty Hold.

Regarding the Empty Hold, of which much mention is made in this novel. You're guess is as good as mine. My guess is that the Empty Hold is the Elder equivalent of House Shadow. Empty, because Scabandari is not around. Empty and up for grabs. Shadowthrone does not have his hands on it, I don't think. The Errant wants it, too.

Moving right along (at about the same pace as Erikson in this book), the fourth story line is about Tavore and the Bonehunters. She arrives up north in that big bay (the name escapes me) with about half her fleet. The rest of them, including the Perish, are on their way to the other side of the continent.

Suffering under a misapprehension that the Edur control the Letherii, and that they would like to be "free", Tavore sends her marines in under Keneb and Faradan Sort to infiltrate the Edur and incite the Letherii to an uprising. The original plan is to join up with the rebellious Letherii, work with them in destroying the Edur, while moving steadily south to meet up with Tavore and the fleet when they arrive at the capitol. Well, haha on them. The Letherii are not in rebellion.

Moving in small groups of two platoons, we follow the adventures of our favorite crackpots and dirt-smeared Ascendants (eg, Fiddler and co., Gesler and co., Hellian and co., etc.), as they desperately fight their way south, teaching hundreds, then thousands, of Letherii and Edur alike to respect Moranth munitions, Malazan marines, and the magic of the non-Elder warrens. These people are nuts. Really. And not in a good way. But we love them, anyway.

This story includes one of only four really affecting scenes in this book (two involving Toc and Karsa Orlong - hold your horses, I'll get there shortly. One that I'm not going to spoil). Faradan is companioned by an idiot savant mage named Beak, of extraordinary power and with a horribly sad past. To keep it short, when the Bonehunters arrive at Letheras city and are confronted with a Letherii army in front of them and an Edur army behind them, Beak saves the day. I won't say more.

At this point, Tavore arrives, everyone converges on the capitol, which is in shambles and disarray already due to Tehol's efffectiveness in rousing the masses to revolution and the effects of Icarium's visit, and the Bonehunters take the city. Under new leadership, the future begins to look brighter, or at least sillier, for Letheras.

Okay, the final story line is the one we all waited for - Karsa and Icarium's confrontations with Rhulad. Well now, until the last few pages of the book, nothing happens. I mean that. Nothing. Rhulad is not in the mood to fight these guys. So everyone cools their heels in the city.

As it turns out, Icarium chooses not to duel with Rhulad and instead pursues his own quest for knowledge of himself and his past. The results are not fortuitous. We do not know where Icarium is, or what state he is in, at the end of this book.

Karsa, however, is another story. His character becomes ever more fascinating. Our respect for him begins to truly blossom. Spoiler alert: Karsa defeats Rhulad in a very ingenious way that allows Rhulad to be permanently free of the Crippled God. As he departs the Crippled God's realm, Karsa delivers the most memorable line in the entire novel. This scene is well worth the reading. Well worth it.

Reaper's Gale is a long book with lots of plot threads. Fans of the series will trod their way through, grasping those moments of revelation and pathos, laughter and triumph. No one else will read it, nor should they. In every series, there are books that simply must be gotten through to see the whole through to the end. Here's hoping Toll the Hounds is a bit more exciting.

Hmmm...How to briefly summarize Toll the Hounds, Book 8 in the Tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen? Let's see if such a thing is possible.

Book Summary: These tales take place on the continent of Genabackis, primarily in the beautiful city of Darujhistan and in the Tiste Andii city of Black Coral and its environs. Secondary, but important, locations include Hood's Realm, Anomander Rake's sword Dragnipur, and the burial mound of Itkovian, former Shield Anvil of Fener and the Grey Swords (readers might want to refresh their Memories of Ice before reading this one).

The time seems to be a few months following the events of Reaper's Gale, as Karsa Orlong and Samar Dev have made their way to Genabackis, as well as Clip, Nimander and the other Tiste Andii young people. However, some readers feel the events may take place as much as two or three years later. No matter.

An Event is going to happen in Darujhistan and a great many people are drawn to the City of Blue Lights like flies to honey. Spite arrives by boat with her rescuees: Cutter, Scillara, Barathol, Chuur, Mappo, and Iskaral Pust. Torvald Nom returns to his wife, home and friends. The Azath releases Rallick Nom and Vorcan. (Turns out the Nom family is quite extensive and talented in a variety of useful ways.)

While on the road, Karsa and Samar Dev meet up with Traveller (his identity is confirmed very early as Dassem Ultor, so I don't consider that a spoiler). Karsa and Traveller become friends and they travel to Darujhistan together. Karsa is ultimately headed home, while Dassem is after Hood.

Kallor also is making his way to Darujhistan. The Fallen God (eg., the Crippled God) now has a Prophet and a temple there. Kallor's intent is to knock him off his Throne and become King of Chains (I say that deliberately, because Kallor's not the kind to want to be King in Chains).

What happens in Darujhistan? About 700 pages of "slice of life" stories, generally sad and unpleasant, involving scads of people we know and don't know, from the nobility to an ox. Yes, the ox has it's own storyline. *sighs*

In brief, Scillara, Barathol and Chuur become friends with the former Bridgeburners and Duiker. Things happen. Sister Spite discovers her twin, Lady Envy, is now living in Darujhistan. They don't get along. Cutter discovers that you can't go home again.

Iskaral Pust installs himself at the Temple of Shadow and tries to lay the beautiful High Priestess. Aside from that, he does nothing else at all. There is a mulish stand-off late in the story that is meant to be funny. In all of Erikson's other books, it would have been. But he misses the mark this time.

Mappo hires the services of the Trygalle Trade Guild to take him to Icarium. Gruntle is bored and signs on as a Shareholder. They have some adventures and get side-tracked along the way.

Meanwhile, down Black Coral way, two new gods are strugggling to be born. One, the Dying God, is another Crippled God tool or wannabe injected simply to provide a means to bring the other one to fruition and reflect the Chaos taking over the world. The other, now called Redeemer, was once Itkovian.

Nimander and his group are peripherally involved with this storyline, though it really has nothing to do with them or their "true" storylines. Basically, it's another opportunity for Erikson to explicate his central themes. Love matters. Life is suffering. Self-sacrifice and redemption are possible and desirable. We create our gods/religions to suit our perceived needs. Chaos versus order.

I am going to make a leap of faith here that this book was meant to set the stage for the final showdowns coming in the last two books and, therefore, that Erikson deliberately shoved a whole bunch of information about the Houses, Holds, and ascendants into this story so we would be prepared to understand what is coming. To review:

The good: The final pages of Toll the Hounds, and some of the middle parts here and there provide many, many answers for those who (like me) are intensely interested in the Deck of Dragons and the ancient Holds and the gods/ascendants who currently hold titled positions in these pantheons. Personally, I keep a spreadsheet on these matters, and I can now confirm quite a few blank spots while noting that others are now, or soon will be, vacant.

We get to meet Fisher Kel Tath, the Bard. Which is fun, since we've been reading his poetry for years now. He turns out to be a most interesting fellow.

We learn much, much more about the Tiste Andii and Mother Dark. This is important stuff for the final two books and the only reason for Toll the Hounds to exist, in my opinion.

The bad: Most of Toll the Hounds is narrated in Erikson's usual third-person subjective omniscient viewpoint (look it up, I had to), swtiching between various characters along the way. Eg., "Samar wanted to kick Karsa in the you know what, but was diverted by the big Elder God bear standing behind her."

However, a significant portion of the story is narrated to the reader by Kruppe, in an omnisicent mode. Are we surprised that Kruppe is omniscient? No. Are we surprised he is talking? No. Are we surprised Erikson is interjecting the extremely rare second-person omniscient narrative mode? After eight books, not especially. Does it work? Not for me.

We know Kruppe is something special. Maybe Really Big Special. But consider his manner of speech. Consider reading about 200 pages of it. That's one thing. But the really sad thing is that much of what Kruppe says to us ends up sounding trite. Trite. I can't believe I am having to type that word in reference to a Steven Erikson novel. Which brings us to:

The ugly: This was a boring book. After 100 pages, I began to wonder which threads would be emphasized. After 300 pages, I began to wonder if any of the threads would be emphasized. By 600 pages, I had lost interest in most of the threads. After 700 pages, I found out none of the threads mattered a damn.

That's a strong statement, I know. If the mini-stories had been more entertaining. If there had been sufficient interjections of quality humor. If Erikson had progressed to the finale in such a way that I had some anticipation and excitement about what I thought, at least, was going to happen. But no. The ending was interesting and, for me, surprising. Yet, the impact was muted by my sense that so much of the book had been simply futile and dull.

I will admit to you that I read this book during a period when I was severely depressed in real life. No doubt, this has significantly influenced my perceptions. Toll the Hounds was so depressing that I despaired to the point where I almost wished Mother Dark would just suck up the entire universe and end it all. Maybe she will.

The word on the web is that Dust of Dreams and the finale, The Crippled God, will read as one long novel, rather than as stand alone novels like the rest of the series. Since Dust of Dreams is not due to be published anywhere until some time in 2009, we will probably have a fairly long (two years from now anyway) wait to find out how the story ends.

Word has it that the grand finale (Dust of Dreams and The Crippled God) will take place on a new continent. Guess your hearts out.